Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc have no ‘interest’ in replacing Fernando Alonso at Aston Martin

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The pool of drivers interested in signing for Aston Martin is rapidly decreasing based on how the 2026 season has started for Lawrence Stroll’s team.

Aston Martin regularly finished on the podium in 2023 thanks to Fernando Alonso, but their fortunes have changed wildly over the past three years.

They were still the leading midfield team in 2024, but by last season, it was clear that their attention had turned to the upcoming regulation changes, with the arrival of Adrian Newey and Honda the headline signings for the Silverstone-based team.

Finish the sentence: In 2027, the Aston Martin driver line-up will be…

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Unfortunately, Newey’s designs delayed some of Aston Martin’s work in preparation for this year, as he only joined from Red Bull last March, and Honda’s power unit is a disaster.

This has led to suggestions that Alonso could retire at the end of the year, with the Spanish driver entering the final season of his contract.

That would open up a seat alongside Lance Stroll in 2027, but Lawrence Stroll’s ambitious targets in the F1 driver market have already been put off by what they’ve seen during pre-season testing.

READ MORE: All to know about Aston Martin F1 Team from team principal to lineage

Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc have no ‘interest’ in Aston Martin 2027 move

A report from MARCA has uncovered more details about what’s going on behind the scenes at Aston Martin.

Last season, a number of drivers were on the team’s radar, with Aston Martin keen on Max Verstappen, as well as Charles Leclerc and George Russell.

Russell was on Aston Martin’s radar for much of last season when Mercedes were delaying his contract extension because of their interest in Max Verstappen.

Meanwhile, Ted Kravitz thought Leclerc would be Aston Martin’s top target if they couldn’t secure the Dutchman’s services.

However, the report from MARCA states that the trio would only be interested in the move if Aston Martin ‘made the leap to the front with a great car’.

All of the evidence shows that’s not going to happen yet, and therefore, ‘none of the three seem to have the slightest interest in looking at the team.’

Lawrence Stroll is still desperate to have a world champion-calibre driver in his ranks, especially if Alonso does decide to walk away from the sport.

However, that’s going to be much harder to secure if Aston Martin are at the back of the grid, while Alonso has to decide ‘in just a couple of months’ if he wants to negotiate a new contract or simply walk away at the end of the year.

Alonso will have time to see if Aston Martin can make the steps forward required, with Honda already promising major fixes in the coming weeks.

READ MORE: Red Bull driver Max Verstappen’s life outside F1 from net worth to girlfriend

Formula 1’s driver market is going to burst into action during the 2026 season

Last season saw very little driver movement, with Alpine and Red Bull at the centre of people’s attention.

However, with the number of drivers out of contract at the end of this year, we could see a repeat of 2024 when Lewis Hamilton’s move to Ferrari prompted eight teams to mix up their line-ups for the following year.

Hamilton’s future will be a point of discussion again if he or Ferrari have a tricky start to the year, while Verstappen’s contract contains exit clauses if he decides he’s had enough of the new regulations.

Aston Martin will find themselves at the back of the queue for new drivers if their car doesn’t rapidly improve and Alonso decides to walk away.

There are plenty of young drivers waiting for their chance, although they only need to ask Felipe Drugovich about his experience at Aston Martin to potentially put them off that move.